Running gear with foldable and vertically adjustable wheels



1954 J. w. UNDERDOWN RUNNING GEAR WITH FOLDABLE AND VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE WHEELS Filed Jan. 8, 1951 John W Underda wh IN V EN TOR.

BY WM Auomrys United States Patent RUNNING GEAR WITH FOLDABLE AND VERHCALLY ADJ USTABLE WHEELS 301m W. Under-down, Sidney, Nebr. Application January 8, 1951, Serial No. 204,996

2 Claims. (Cl. 97-42) This invention relates to agricultural implements and particularly to rod weeoers and specifically improvements therein, causing the implement to be more easily transported rrom one place to another.

1t 18 the primary ob ect of this invention to provide improvements in a structure disclosed by r. T. court et al. in r'atent No. 1,94l,539, issued January 2, 1934. The improvements relate particularly to the provision of an auxiliary wheel to be mounted intermediate the sides of the substantially rectangular frame, this auxiliary wheel being capable of being swung to a position so as to be ground contacting and to another position spaced from the ground when it is not desired to employ it.

Ancillary ob ects and features of importance will become apparent in following the description of the illustrated term of the invention.

in the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of the device with the improvement therein;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view with parts being shown in elevation and taken substantially on the line 22 of Figure 1 and in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the auxiliary wheel in the ground contacting position;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the wheel of Figure 3 in the ground contacting position; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing a part of the means of supporting the wheel spindle so that it is capable of being supported firmly while it is in the ground contacting position.

in the accompanying drawings, there is a rod weeder of the type disclosed in the referred to patent. This rod weeder among other structure includes a rectangular frame 12 having ends 14 and 16 together with sides 18 and 20. This frame is provided with all of the structure disclosed in the referred to patent and in addition has an auxiliary wheel 22 mounted at the lower end of a spindle 24, said spindle being substantially L-shaped and including a horizontal portion 26 which is integrally joined with an integral portion 28.

The side 18 of the frame 12 is made of angle construction so that the spacer block 30 may be simply disposed thereon and welded in place. Attached to this block and also to the edge of one flange of the side 18 is a vertical channel 32 which opens outwardly of the side 18 and-which is provided with parallel legs 34 and 36 which extend at right angles to and from a web 38. The web is provided with a recess 40 at its upper end so that the spindle 24 may be swung to a position upon the frame (Figure 1), the recess providing ample clearance for this swinging movement.

A pivot pin 42 is passed through suitable openings in the legs 34 and 36 of the channel 32 and also through an aperture provided in the upper end of the spindle 24. The function of the pivot pin 42 is to mount the spindle so that it is capable of being rotated to such position that the wheel 22 is capable of contacting the ground and also to such position that the wheel is located upon the frame 12. In order to releasably hold the spindle 24 in the position disclosed in Figure 4, a pair of brackets 44 extend from the lower parts of the legs 34 and 36 of the channel and are provided with an opening to receive the locking pin 46. The locking pin 46 being passed through the apertures in the brackets 44, is in such position that a part of the pin contacts the side of the vertical portion 28 of the spindle 24, thereby preventing pivotal movement of the spindle and holding the upper part of the spindle nested within the channel 32.

In operation, the auxiliary wheel 22 and its spindle is swung about the axis of the pivot pin 42 so that a part of the wheel 22 contacts the ground. By pulling forward about six inches with a tractor, the weeder can Patented Dec. 14, 1954 be held elevated slightly from the ground due to the length of the portion 28 of the spindle 24. Accordingly, when this pulling movement of the weeder takes place, the upper portion 28 of the spindle is moved into nested relationship with the channel 32 and the locking pin 46 may be located in such position as to hold the spindle fixed. By having the auxiliary wheel located at a place substantially halt-way between the ends 14 and 16 of the weeder frame 12, the rod weeder may be pulled lengthwise along the road.

In order to remove the auxiliary wheel 22 from the ground, the locking pin 46 is separated from its brackets 44 and the frame 12 is pushed backwardly to remove the weight of the weeder from the wheel 22. Then the wheel is simply lifted and thrown in an are about the pin 42 as an axis of rotation, so that wheel 22 rests' upon the top of the frame 12. The rod weeder is then in condition to be used in a field.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a rod weeder comprising an elongated frame including side frame members, wheels swlvelly mounted along one of said side frame members for rolling the frame in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said frame, said wheels being vertically adjustable, a vertically disposed outwardly opening channel including a web and flanges secured to the other of said side frame members and extending thereabove, a pin extending between the flanges of said channel at the upper end thereof, a spindle swingably secured at its upper end to the upper end of said channel between the channel flanges for movement from a first position parallel to the channel between the channel flanges to a second position overlying the weeder frame and extending rearwardly of said channel, brackets extending outwardly from said flanges adjacent the lower end of the channel, locking means releasably carried by and extending between said brackets holding said spindle in said first position, a stub axle extending from the other end of said spindle and an auxiliary wheel mounted on said stub axle for rolling movement parallel to the longitudinal axis of said frame, when the spindle is in its first position.

2. In a rod weeder comprising an elongated frame including side frame members, wheels swivelly mounted along one of said side frame members for rolling the frame in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said frame, said wheels being vertically adjustable, a vertically disposed outwardly opening channel including a web and flanges secured to the other of said side frame members and extending thereabove, a pin extending between the flanges of said channel at the upper end thereof, a spindle swingably secured at its upper end to the upper end of said channel between the channel flanges for movement from a first position parallel to the channel between the channel flanges to a second position overlying the weeder frame and extending rearwardly of said channel, brackets extending outwardly from said flanges adjacent the lower end of the channel, locking means releasably carried by and extending between said brackets holding said spindle in said first position, a stub axle extending from the other end of said spindle and an auxiliary wheel mounted on said stub axle for rolling movement parallel to the longitudinal axis of said frame, when the spindle is in its first position, said channel web being recessed at its upper end whereby the spindle may be swung to its second position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,872,121 Christensen Aug. 16, 1932 1,923,904 Allen et al Aug. 22, 1933 1,941,539 Court et al. Jan. 2, 1934 2,042,598 Harvey June 2, 1936 2,054,842 Walker Sept. 22, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 497,390 Great Britain Dec. 15, 1938 708,988 Germany Aug. 2, 1941 

